Vietnam in HD (2011) User Reviews

Don't Listen to the Armchair Critics. See it.

[robbiereilly · 8/10 · 20 June 2012]

Did I miss something here?

This was an excellent production. As some stated, a 'must see' for students of history and those interested in the Vietnam War.

It's a recollection, a compilation using home movie footage, archival footage, material released through FOIA, and plenty of other sources never before assembled together to present a very personal view of what it was like to fight in Vietnam and to be at home waiting for the loved one to return.

A personal view.

Judging by the criticisms of others here, complaining that the series is too patriotic or pro- American, I have to say, did you watch the same documentary as I did? Simply because the production focuses on American soldiers in this conflict does not make it jingoistic. It simply means it's from a perspective. Good grief, lighten up.

What I saw were personal stories, stories of men asked - no, make that ordered, drafted into action for their country (in this case, the United States). Action most neither asked for nor wanted. Yet, action they fulfilled nevertheless.

What I did NOT see was the flag waving jingoism many here are complaining about. If anything, this documentary illustrates the futility of that conflict and how the American leadership lacked the moral justification to order young men into battle. Yet, the men who were ordered to do so, did the best they could under the worst of circumstances, only to come home to the misguided anger, hate and violence of American protesters, which some of the comments here seem to side with.

This is a well produced, illustrative and interesting production on the personal side of Americans in Vietnam, right up there with the outstanding works of PBS's "Vietnam A Television History" and Stanley Karnow's companion book.

Like I said above, ignore the critics. See it.

brutal

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 15 March 2021]

It's a six-part History Channel show about the Vietnam War. The tagline is "It's not the war we know. It's the war they fought." It uses home videos, brutal battlefront footage, and real veterans' recollections. The home videos give a sense of the times. The war footage is bloody and vicious. The gore is front and center. There isn't anything new to the overall understanding of the war. It's interesting to walk a few steps in the shoes of these men. I would like an experienced narrator to do the general story. The real veterans talking does grow on me. When that reporter says "That boy haunts me today", there is a chill that radiates out of the screen. This is a brutal recollection and a compelling watch.

Yet Another Serious Warning From History

[StrictlyConfidential · 7/10 · 1 August 2020]

This in-depth presentation certainly offers the viewer a very intense and clear-sighted look at the brutally harsh realities of the Vietnam War where millions of lives (both Vietnamese and American) were lost all on account of, literally, nothing.

Through stills, archival footage, and interviews - This powerfully presented history documentary certainly doesn't shy away from showing the viewer all of the graphic violence and bloody carnage that regularly took place over in Vietnam. And, believe me - This is definitely something that no manufactured Hollywood movie on the subject will ever be able to match in its overall intensity.

All-in-all - This first-rate presentation is certainly worth a view for anyone who's interested in seeing just how the Vietnam War was really handled (or should I say how it was "mishandled"?).

surprising...

[camera-shy · 20 November 2011]

I was surprised to see there was only one review of this , i was expecting a couple of hundred at least. Clearly the other poster was not impressed by this series and i agree with a lot of what he said but i also think that these pages in history shouldn't be forgotten and if that means some cheesy music and a bit of hammy voice acting then so be it, although i think Michael C Hall was the ideal person to narrate this.

Putting the production aside there is a wealth of archive footage that gives you a glimpse of what it was like over there, I've never been in a war but I feel I should at least watch these documentaries and try to understand what they go through. I'm not even American and I feel I owe them that which is why i was surprised to see such a small number of reviews.

I make a point of watching and reading as much as I can on any conflict that people have fought and died in, to recognize and remember what they did is the least we can do. Listn to the real guys talking ,look at their faces in the archive footage and read between the lines...ignore the music, that is how you watch a war documentary.

If you were born in the US after the war like me you might learn something

[jtg01 · 10/10 · 1 April 2015]

I was born just shy of 10 years after Saigon fell so I had no relation to the war. I do have a strong interest in history, especially military history, but I must be honest, I avoided this documentary for a long time because Vietnam can be a hurtful subject and everything about the war since it ended has been so negative. I would never argue we, America, won the war, but everything I have ever been shown, taught, or read pretty much makes the point that everything about the war was evil or wrong. No exception.

One evening I finally watched this documentary and I have to say it was perspective changing. I cannot tell you firsthand what Vietnam was like, but I can tell you first hand that if you started school in the 1980s or later, you have never been taught an unbiased view of the war. This documentary is the closest thing to an unbiased take on Vietnam I have yet encountered. This documentary does exactly what a good documentary should; open you to multiple perspectives by exposing you to film and primary sources and interviews. That exposure challenges you to think on your own. I came away with a new opinion on the whole war.

Many reviewers criticize and say this documentary is jingoistic by trying to convince people the war was being won. On the contrary, the only reference to 'winning' I saw was the quotations of the Johnson administration about how we were 'winning' in body counts and the documentary uses this directly as a contrast to the reality the soldiers were facing of the ground. That is the endless Search and Destroy runs where people would die and gained territory was quickly abandoned. This documentary pulls no punches and is not afraid to showcase the insanity of the Vietnam War. Lots of stupid things were done. Lots of opportunities were missed. This documentary does not hide it.

On the other side, this documentary doesn't write off the war as inherently evil or as a perpetually lost cause. It does not hide the fact we now know the NVA was nearly crippled after Tet and the US didn't capitalize on it. Similarly it doesn't hide that Nixon balked at destroying Vietcong supplies in Cambodia after Kent State. Are those things controversial? Yes. Missed opportunities? Maybe so. The documentary doesn't tell you what to think, it simply exposes you to fresh perspectives that my grade school teachers never offered me.

Don't let commercial reviews fool you. This documentary is not overly simplistic. It is simply a fresh overview of a very complex subject. Overviews have their place. I guarantee that you will take new things away from this film. This documentary overviews the good bad and the ugly. Before I saw it all I was ever taught was the bad and ugly.

Ultimately, this documentary really shines in giving our G.I.s the credit they deserve for sacrificing everything in the absence of clear objectives. Don't marginalize them or this documentary just because a majority of historians feel that Vietnam has to be portrayed a certain way.

Epic footage and commentary

[sgldda · 10/10 · 16 February 2012]

This series is about war, politics and people. Just like with WWII in HD, I am in awe of history in video, specially in HD. I lived through those times with limited cognisance of what was really transpiring although soon after coming to assimilate what its overall impact would eventually come to be. Listening to and seeing the few participants, interspersed with the reality of that arguably unnecessary conflict is engrossing.

Reviews of this, and similar series, should be devoid of political rhetoric and consistent with the presentation quality and viewers objective appreciation of what was created and produced through significant effort.

One needs to remember that honour and duty among soldiers in rarely arrogance or narcissism. These human beings were placed in a terrible place and asked to do terrible things, or else rendered criminals in their own country or dishonoured as soldiers. Most were completely ostracized and suffered severe mental depressions, upon returning home to their families and friends. IMO, their "OO-RAH" is purely a sense of camaraderie and commitment to their fellows in the battle zone where there was no time or point to pander politics or resentment to their leadership... lives were at stake.

THIS IS A MUST SEE FOR HISTORY BUFFS!

Loved It

[historybuff51 · 10/10 · 28 December 2011]

This series is great for anyone who is not familiar with the Vietnam War. The personal accounts are wonderful and really take you inside the mindset of the time. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from the soldiers, and appreciated the fact that the series attempted to stay away from political commentary / opinions about the war. I watched the series with two good friends who served in Vietnam, and both of them felt that it was an accurate portrayal of the war and the atmosphere at home. While it does gloss over some events, I suppose that cannot be helped since the series is only 6 episodes long, with each episode running about 45 minutes. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a good overview of the war and wants to hear it from the mouths of the men and women who served there. I'm also happy to see that the History Channel is still occasionally producing series with real historical content.

War As Experienced by Those There

[pierrebrown · 9/10 · 18 August 2022]

Really well done. Liked that it's not just about the war, but also about what's happening stateside and culturally.

One thing that struck me was the almost constant din of helicopters, and the futility of body counts as a measure of success.

On a technical note, great sound and video quality.

All Is Fair In Love And War (?)

[strong-122-478885 · 8/10 · 30 November 2016]

Lyrics excerpt - "All we are saying is - Give peace a chance."

This is a picture about war - And, believe me, it isn't a pretty one.

This was a war that the Americans had no business being in.

This was a war where two-faced, US President, Lyndon Johnson promised his gullible citizens that American involvement would only last for a few months.

This was a war that endured (under direct US occupation) for 10 years (1964-1974) and took the lives of 60,000 American military men (with 300,000 wounded) - Not to mention the dead Vietnamese.

This was a war where blacks (and other racial minorities), along with under-privileged whites, were the ones sent to the front lines to fight.

This was a war that was condoned by 2, hypocrite, US presidents (Johnson & Nixon) in order to save political face.

Through interviews, narration, and archival footage - This is a mighty powerful re-telling of the reality of that war, which, as you'll see, is like nothing that Hollywood has ever shown you.

wonderful documentary

[oldbuzzard-295-709467 · 10/10 · 17 February 2012]

Absolutely was enthralled by the show. I was an innocent child of the 60's from Canada for the second time enthralled by the news (the first being Kennedy's assassination).My only concern was, I was under the impression that a greater percentage of the draftees were black and I did not see that representation in the film, also I was hoping to learn more on the My Lai massacre. Thank You for the memories,,,B I hope there might be a season 2..the lessons learned for both our countries with the Afghanistan war have been understated, also from an old nurse's point of view the medical "on the ground" information has been beyond measure..

Not all footage real vietnam

[madtaffy-59248 · 7/10 · 7 January 2018]

Not a bad series, have seen it a couple of times now and lots of very informative stuff.

Generally not a bad series but did note tonight that it seems that some of the on board carrier film is actually from the movie the final countdown.

Historical Thrill Ride

[Jamie_abram · 9/10 · 27 July 2012]

I for one really enjoyed this mini-series, from the first episode to the last, it really has a lot of entertainment value. For the record, I am a currently a double major in history and political science and I would most definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested.

Warning: it is fairly one sided towards the American perspective, but that does not mar it in my opinion, it just requires a conscious acknowledgment of that prior to watching it. With that said, for entertainment value it was great ( 10/10 ), turn it up full blast and for a spilt second you might actually forget feel like you are there. The footage was great and very powerful at times.

To get the most out of this mini-series I would suggest doing some reading prior to watching it (or after if you are truly impatient), but I believe most will have at least a working knowledge of what Vietnam was about. But like others have said, for a more in depth understanding of this war, it is critical to look somewhere else.

Overall this was a thrilling documentary (or mini-series) that holds a lot of entertainment value and for those who can look past the one sided nature and biases of it, you will walk away satisfied. For the more cynical of critics, this may seem like a Hollywood production glorifying the war and justifying American heroes. However, for the most part this does not glorify the Vietnam but rather tries to recount history by jazzing it up a bit.

A lot of original footage, drained with American hero-victory-sauce

[darkshad3 · 5/10 · 25 November 2011]

I'm giving this one a 5 for the footage. It's nice to see so much original footage and that's what I'm always looking for. I admire the people with the cameras in the field. So using their footage means giving them credit for what they did. They shot with cameras, not with guns. Too bad, however, that it's almost all US footage, almost no North VN footage was used.

Other than that, this is yet another very one-sided documentary of the Vietnam war. From the first second to the last everything shouts "look at us heroes, we're so awesome, we did so good". Americans seem to be utterly incapable of objectively reporting on the subject of war. It seems to me that with every documentary on the subject they're doing all they can to cover up the fact that they got their asses kicked. By a much weaker force by the way. Just admit it and move on. Terrible things happened and those are the facts. That's what I want from a documentary, the facts! Not a deep-sounding voice telling me how difficult some General's decision was, how long he had to think about it just to portray him as a good guy. State the facts please, and leave it at that. Don't put the ever-American gloss over it to make it look more than it is.

Conclusion : If you want a 50/50 mix between some Band Of Brothers with some info put in and everything video and audio pointing out they were incredible heroes, than watch this. If you're looking for a good documentary stating the facts and looking at this war from both sides, keep looking, this is not it.

Liked it

[jasherjasher · 21 November 2011]

I liked this a lot. It seemed that the series strove to maintain a neutral point of view in regard to the causes and/or futility of the war while maintaining focus on the individuals they profiled, and in my opinion they largely succeeded. Unlike a previous reviewer, I did not find it to be overly narcissistic, pro-war, or even all that pro-American, though the focus was definitely on the American experience. Some time was also devoted to other factors, such as life for the families back home, protests and movements, and U.S. administration positions on the war at various points, though the main focus remained with the progress of the war and the battlefields themselves.

Leaving the controversies aside, I thought that what the series tried to do -- portray the experiences of various individuals at certain key places and events in the war -- they did quite well. I also liked the graphics and illustrations and, as opposed to other documentaries I have seen, I thought that these were distributed well and did not get in the way of the real story. The CGI stuff was good and not overdone, in my opinion.

The thing about Vietnam is that once you start discussing the controversies and what we now know to be untruths, it is a discussion without end, full of passion and short on facts, not because of the people discussing it but because the whole thing was based upon a twenty year series of lies and deceptions on the part of the governments involved. Wherever there are lies there will always be arguments, and the subject of the Vietnam war is proof positive of this on a massive scale. This series did not attempt to take any of that on, and wisely so. Though at times I found this irritating -- for instance, the neutral announcement of the events in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964 as legal cause for Johnson's escalation, when we now know that at least one of the incidents never happened -- I could recognize it as necessary in telling the story. If they had taken on any one of the many controversies or governmental lies, it would have been a quicksand from which the series would not have recovered. I'm glad they didn't!

It is good to remember that many of those fighting were not volunteers but draftees: it was a federal charge and prison time to dodge the draft. In that light, I do not think that talk of honor and duty is narcissistic or out of place: many did not choose the war, but were sent by force. These went in service to their *country* -- if not the war itself -- and acquitted themselves on a personal level largely with great honor, regardless of the legitimacy of the war or their belief in it. Many times in the series you hear the soldiers referring to the war as a lost cause, and yet they gave their lives for it, if only because that was what they personally felt was the honorable thing to do. I believe that this *personal* honor, courage and heroism on an *individual* level is what this series was trying to bring out, and I think it succeeded very well.

I enjoyed this series in spite of its neutral point of view, and I think it was very nicely done given the incredibly controversial nature of the war and its premises. While I would NOT recommend this series as a primer on Vietnam, nor even a good outline or overview -- you'd be better off going to Wikipedia for that -- it did very well with what it tried to do, and it's well worth a watch if wartime documentaries are something you like. Enjoy!

Decent History of the War

[yakster1 · 8/10 · 18 March 2015]

I was looking forward to this and thought it was a decent overview of the Vietnam War but it really only covers the US major involvement from 1965 onwards, when in fact they had "advisors" there since the late 50's. The Ten Thousand Day War series goes into much more depth as it begins begins in 1945 and then ends with the surrender of Saigon in 1975. I did like how they expanded on the major battles (Ia Drang, Khe Sanh, Hamburger Hill etc.) and much of the footage is unbelievable. It hits most of the Vietnam touchstones (Tet Offensive, that guy getting executed, Khe Sanh etc.) but doesn't mention 2 major stories from the war, the My Lai massacre and that picture of the naked girl running down a road after being burned by napalm. Her name is Kim Phuc and she's currently living in Toronto. Now she would've made a great talking head. All in all a pretty informative overview of the war in Vietnam.

Ignore the whiny armchair generals

[gmartin1975 · 10/10 · 15 October 2022]

I think this show did a very good job of showing the America and American troops doing the best of the best of a non idea situation losing the war was not because of the American soldier it was because their arms were tied behind their backs by the politicians politicians all away politicians will always lose the war but never have to suffer the consequences because of it I think we should think every single person who went over there for their service they did not want to go they went because it was their Duty they were told on ways to fight the war that was completely asinine and then when they when they come up with their objective they blamed fir the faukts if the politicians.

apparently not only winners can write history

[edan33 · 5/10 · 25 November 2011]

yes, the footage is good, but as someone who's (too) familiar with combat situations and the history of war (the Vietnam war as well), I must say this isn't a documentary. The series try too much to show the US as the winning side in the conflict instead of covering the other aspects of the war. see how they emphasize the concept of "winning" after each and every scene and battle. If I had to summarize the purpose behind this series it would be "lets show all the great footage we got and present it as if America actually won the Vietnam war".

There are no winners in war. war is nothing more than a military means to a political end. it suck. it's horrific. but this series don't deal with the political aspects around the Vietnam war, so winning has nothing to do with it. This series claim to cover the historical aspect, so what's with all the claims of "we've won" this and "we've won" that.

Military is all about combat, tactics, weapons etc. but to understand war is to understand how we, as people, react to all the different aspects of it. If you're interested in the history of Vietnam war then I suggest you look elsewhere. Start by reading the "dull" history facts, then watch "china beach" to learn of the human aspects and the side-effects, and then try to get your hands on "secrets of war - Vietnam - hidden in plain site" (by the History channel) to understand how it looked from the VC side.

Learn about war so if you ever forced into one, at least be aware of the true nature and ramifications of it, on both sides.

Pious mutterings of a generation of narcissists

[antimatter33 · 20 November 2011]

What strikes me most about this series is how it is possible, even necessary, for Americans to take this most colossal of domestic and international blunders and attempt to ennoble it with fancy language about "buddies" and "honor" and "sacrifice" and other words that are, shall we say, incompatible with the utter annihilation of generations here and there.

To say this series is bad would be incorrect. What it is, is somehow disgusting jingoism. The fake-dramatic music, the lap dissolves, the Times Roman font, the narration of simplistic statements made to sound deep by the hammy-sounding readers - it is deeply repellent, even more so than the earlier "WWII in HD" was repellent. One should learn from his mistakes and correct them. That's something Americans don't seem to understand. War-mongering is only compatible with victory.

Reviewer's update: The series ends with a predictable paean to militarism from the veterans featured in the series, which is grossly offensive, comparing those who returned from the modern catastrophes in Iraq and Afghanistan (the latter ongoing) to themselves. They have, I suppose, the right to this opinion in compensation for their respective ordeals. But at least this conclusion is a consistent ending to a series that attempts to ennoble a moral, political, and societal catastrophe. This is simply not possible. Those who are predisposed to accept that America is a militaristic state with the God given right to throw its destructive weight around regardless of consequences, will find the series compelling. Those who prefer the position of Washington, Jefferson, Grant, Eisenhower, etc. will be filled with a combination of remorse and revulsion.

Disrespect for source material, lack of subtlety

[slikts · 3/10 · 24 January 2014]

The focus of this series is supposed to be the historical footage, but the makers seem to resent the aspect ratio that was historically used, so all the footage is crudely stretched and everything in it is made to look thicker. The end result is that the movie is better viewed in 4:3 so that the contemporary footage would be distorted instead.

The most accurate description of the narration is that it's overacted. The makers seem to have been aiming to give the series a dignified overall feeling, but it ends up feeling more cheap instead. The result would have been significantly better and more respectful of the actual history if they took a more hands-off approach and just presented the historical footage and the interviews without as much editing, editorializing and remastering.

We served it, we do what we asked to do (is it sounded familiar??)

[phuonganhlara · 2/10 · 2 June 2012]

Only to 2 for this documentary, one for good quality and one for valuable history footage. But so annoying about what old men said about pride, sacrifice... like only them who can understand what is the sacrifice.

Compare the lost of two sides, Viet Nam's lost is more considered not America - So please don't be proud of your lost.

In the war, people died or fought for their purpose. You can said you died because your country asked you to died, but you can't say you killed anyone because country said you killed cause for something even undefined -That make no sense.

We served it, we do what we asked to do - I'm sure soldiers of Hitler also could proud of them cause they served and do what government asked them to do and they thought they do for the country and the peace of the world too.

Nice footage but terribly angled in favor of America..

[nils-gustav-lindstrom · 3/10 · 27 September 2017]

It's interesting to watch this to get the American angle on the Vietnam war. As someone who wasn't raised in America it's completely incomprehensible how a country is capable of such indescribable horrible acts in the name of "fighting communism".

This is basically American propaganda with not much value more than the footage.

If you have the time/money and are burning to learn more about the Vietnam war from a far more interesting perspective I highly recommend the War Remnants Museum in Saigon.

Take care!

As it mentions in the summary this documentary, it is from American's point of view

[eragon_penvensie · 5/10 · 20 February 2022]

I give this 5 because everybody has their own opinion. I have just watched the first episode, and I don't think that I want to finish this series.

• To American government then, North Vietnamese government is enemy. To us then, American was some stranger who thinks they knew what was right.

• To American government then, North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam. To us then, we wanted to point out that the agreement signed in Geneve to end French colonisation wasn't followed through.

• To American government then, Communism was evil ideology. To us then, it was a hope that everyone would have equality in basic needs.

• To American government then, you said that you wanted peace for the world. To us then, you were killing our people to try stopping us from making our own decision.

I am Vietnamese. And I am offended when we are called "enemy" in this documentary on our own soil.

I wouldn't rely on a documentary that contradicts declassified information

[misanthrope-34377 · 1/10 · 10 November 2023]

Well the documentary starts off with the false narrative pushed to the American people for the purpose of getting them behind the war (the golf of Tonkin incident). Claims that have been LONG proven false via declassified documents.

"In 2005, an internal National Security Agency historical study was declassified; it concluded that Maddox had engaged the North Vietnamese Navy on August 2, but that the incident of August 4 was based on bad naval intelligence and misrepresentations of North Vietnamese communications." <- Interpretation : The Americans picked a fight and then put on angel costumes for the world to see.

I have watched this documentary for less than 5 minutes and its already spewing biased propaganda feces everywhere instead of giving a TRUE accounting of what ACTUALLY happened for posterity. I didn't put on a documentary to watch fiction.